October 12, 2010: Shell Beans

After I picked all the rest of the cranberry beans yesterday, I sorted through the pods and shelled all of the dry ones to either cook later this winter or use for seed next year. I had planned on just letting the hanging basket full of the large pods that hadn't yet dried hang in the kitchen through the winter while we are gone, hoping they would dry. I had second thoughts about returning to a moldy mess hanging from my kitchen ceiling, so decided I would go ahead and shell the beans and cook them for dinner.

This basket of pods is larger than it looks in the picture!

I put the shelled beans into a sauce pot, just barely covered them with cold water and added some salt. I brought them to a boil, put on a lid and lowered the heat to a simmer. I set the timer for thirty minutes.

At 25 minutes, the shell beans were tender, and some of them had begun to burst open.

I added a lot of freshly cracked pepper and a big pat of butter.

I served the beans as a side dish to grilled Italian sausages with red bell peppers, and fresh sliced Eva Purple Ball tomatoes.

The verdict: The beans were very mealy, much like Lima beans. The flavor was good, but would have been improved with the addition of onion and ham or bacon. I was out of onions, bacon and ham, as we're trying to just eat what is on hand so we don't have to transport any fresh foods south with us. Would I cook them like this again? Maybe. Would I grow cranberry beans just for using as shell beans? No. I'll have to try the dry beans before I make a decision whether or not to save some as seeds for next year.

17 comments:

Granny - I'm still a bit confused about shell beans. Does that term "shell beans" refer to just fresh shelled and cooked beans, like you did above? How would they be different if you dried them? With dried beans, don't you still rehydrate them first before cooking them, which would be similar to shell beans like you just prepared? Please enlighten me!

Thyme2, Common beans can be used for shell (or shelling) beans, which have the pods removed before they are cooked or dried. The term can be used to refer to other species of beans, such as lima beans, soybeans, peas, or fava beans, that have their shell removed before it is eaten. Nutritionally, shell beans are similar to dry beans, but in the kitchen are treated as a vegetable, often steamed, fried, or made into soups. You can use shell beans and dried beans interchangeably in many recipes. But remember that shell beans remain the same size whether raw or cooked. Dried beans - which usually require soaking before they're cooked - more than double in size, so you'll need to adjust quantities accordingly.

If you grow the beans in your garden, pick them when the pods are bulging with the bean seeds, but not yet dry. Whether home grown or bought, you will have to shell the beans - remove the seeds from the pods.

At this point, you can blanch the beans to freeze for later. To do this, plunge them in boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Then, immediately, using a slotted spoon to scoop them out of the boiling water, plunge them into ice water (a bowl with cold water and ice cubes). Let them chill for as long as they were in the boiling water, about 3 minutes. Dry well, blot on paper towels if necessary, then freeze in ziplock freezer bags.

Put the shelled beans in a pot and just cover with water. Don't put too much water, it should just cover the beans, but watch while it cooks and add more if it starts to get dry. They should take about 30 to 35 minutes to cook. Add salt and other seasonings at any time. Some suggestions are seasalt, ground black pepper, diced roasted red peppers, diced onions, garlic powder, sliced fresh sage, fresh thyme.

Toodie, cranberry beans aren't anything like cranberries! You can see images and find articles on them at

http://tinyurl.com/24d5ml6

The dried cranberry beans would make very good baked beans, but the soft "shell" or "shellie" beans would cook too quickly. Any green bean that gets too large and filled with big beans can be shelled and the soft beans inside can be cooked for 20-30 minutes.

Granny, thank you for the detailed information. I was more confused about how you said that even though you wouldn't grow cranberry beans just for using as shell beans (I assume because you weren't overly impressed with them), you might still consider growing it if you like the dry beans after trying them. My question is, would there be that much difference between shell beans vs dry beans that have been soaked and cooked?

I think you were smart not to leave those beans in that basket to dry in your prolonged absence. Based on how much initial molding/rotting I got with my beans that are drying in the shop (with the help of a fan) - I think the odds were high that you would come back to a moldering mess. Sorry they were not more tasty but plain beans without a little something like bacon to jazz em up are just not too terribly interesting!

Thyme2, I've never grown nor eaten this variety before, so I don't know how different the taste would be. I imagine quite a bit of difference, as none of the plain white shell beans I've eaten taste anything like the dried navy or pea beans I've cooked. Until today, I've only eaten shell beans mixed in with the green beans, all cooked together. I often cook them that way, as there always seem to be a few that get too big and fat and tough to eat as green beans. I just go ahead and shell those and cook them (the soft seeds) with the snap beans. They are really good cooked that way.

Kitsap, I left a bunch of beans in a colander in the plant window last year. They didn't mold, but many of the beans dried up into little shriveled things that were no good for seed or food. I did get a few seeds from them, but they were further into the drying process than these cranberry beans are. Those that I shelled the other night are nearly completely dry now, though. I'll have more than enough for seeds for next year.

Meemsnyc, I was surprised Mr. Granny ate all of his. He hates Lima beans! I'm the bean eater in the family, and I only ate a couple of bites of them. I think they could have been a lot juicier, I'd add more water if I cooked them again. And then I'd serve them on a thick slice of home made bread that had been slathered in real butter. And then I'd go buy a larger pair of jeans.

I've yet to cook any of my dried beans but really should try soon. I have a ham bone in the freezer just waiting for a ham & bean soup. It is kind of strange that your dry beans took so long this year. Seems all your other warms season crops had a bumper year.

Heskie, where on earth have you been? I had to go check your blog to see if maybe my reader wasn't picking it up. Happy birthday!

********Ali, life without butter would be life without sunshine. Mr. Granny eats margarine, but that's OK....it's cheaper that way ;-)

********Dan, hardly any of my beans dried on the vines. But then, my morning glories blossomed 2 months late or not at all, and only a few of my peppers turned red. Farmers growing vineyards around here are complaining their wine grapes are two months behind.

Gack! I love beans, but I don't think I'd eat any of them plain - butter just isn't enough. They always need something more. Soups, chilies, even beans with green chilies and onions, but never plain. Last winter my son and I were really into beans soups. They were so much fun to make. My son makes a black bean and chickpea something that I can only term glomp. But it is really tasty. For the life of me I can't remember what he puts into them. I'm sure he will make them for me again over Christmas break. I think most of my cranberry beans ended up in chili last year.

Daphne, I think the cranberry beans look and taste a lot like pinto beans, so they'd be really good in chili. I'm sure I'll like the dried ones better than the shell beans, which were just a bit too mealy, and probably a bit overcooked. They probably would have tasted much better if I'd cooked them with the sausage and peppers! I hate being out of onions, but this close to leaving, I don't grocery shop.